Hey all!! sorry for the late post, long weekend... I had a lot of thoughts for what to post about for this topic (doing justice) but I thought i might try to provoke a bit of conversation and reflection. (who knows if it will work...)
Last week I was at the gym and found myself staring at an infomercial for Feed The Children. My initial reaction was frustration. While I appreciate that this type of charity does provide much needed food for families that would likely die without it, I often feel like these programs can do more harm than help. On the one hand, those donating have the ability to push the true suffering that is occurring out of their minds by simply donating "a dollar a day." Yet at the same time, that money may be doing little to address this suffering. Despite the importance of funds for food and medical support that these programs provide, we ought to be critical of the percentage of the money that actually reaches those in need and in what form.
In one clip of this advertisement a worker is handing out bottled water to a flock of African children. An effective tool for fundraising I am sure, but I couldn't help but wonder if the money spent on that one shipment of water might have funded a well that would last fro generations instead. This, for me, is why all work of justice or even charity ought to start with solidarity. Living with those we see as in need can teach us what they really desire rather than believing that we may have the answers to their problems.
I have been reflecting on this dynamic between charity and solidarity and its relationship to what we will be doing in country and my own Send Me to Serve campaign. Why is the JVC modle of service so attractive to me? How do I see myself as a person who is both recieving financial assistance from others but still a "volunteer" for the community I will be entering? What, if anything, do I have to give to my community in Tacna? Ect. Ect. But rather than sharing my initial thoughts I would love to hear what you all think about the difference, or maybe similarity between these sorts of charity organizations and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, between what we will be doing and those missionaries who hand out rice and water to starving children. Comments encourages!!
I share your same frustrations sometimes with different charities. I wonder the same thing, if its actually helping or harming efforts. It goes back to that common saying that talks about teaching the person to fish rather than giving them fish or fishing for them. As JV's we all want to make lasting efforts of justice rather than a quick fix and that starts with understanding and solidarity. I feel as if we are first going to make the effort to listen to multiple stories, not running with the one story we have been told of where we are going but being aware of the multiple layers of culture and life. This is where I think the process of "conscientización" comes in. Not to just give charity but to search for justice and look out for those systems of oppression that cause people to be hungry or rely on aid. So lets say that instead of handing out water, you decide to build a well. Cool! That money spent has a longer effect, but do the people know how to build a well if the need arises? Or do they have to ask the foreigners help again in order to build one? Sometimes the answers are a lot more complicated than just building a well and that's it. I agree with what you are saying about the people teaching us though. Instead of going in and thinking that we may have the answer to their problems perhaps its more about realizing that they probably already know the answer and that we are just their to fill in for what they feel could use our help. The initiative and leadership should come from the people we serve, not necessarily us as volunteers. Sorry for the long commment but your topic pretty extensive lol
ReplyDeleteJohn and Edwin, you both brought up really interesting points that really reveal how complicated it is to step into another culture - especially about the water/well scenario. With your thoughts in mind, I just read this article about voluntourism (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna) and although it's a little outdated, it still resonates with what we're discussing in this blogpost.
ReplyDeleteFor me, there are two inseparable aspects of the JVC International Program that sets itself apart from others: it recognizes the need for time and intentionality. We will spend two years in our respective countries and although two years is a short time (in the long run), two years gives us the chance to develop meaningful relationships, to engage in meaningful work with those in our community, IF we are intentional about our words and actions. I have another great blog post about intentionality that I'll post soon, but just thought I'd add a little something about why JVC is so attractive to me.
I guess a large part of my attraction to this particular experience can also be boiled down to an, perhaps crass, equation: time + intentionality + words/actions = meaning. The way in which meaning might manifest itself is a mystery, it's not even guaranteed, but it doesn't mean that I'll easily give up my search for it.